Case Study: System Design Evaluation reduces costly fuze trials with MSC Software Adams

System Design Evaluation Ltd. - Customer Case Study

System Design Evaluation Ltd. (SDE), a UK aerospace engineering company, needed a way to study the motion and structural strength of fuze mechanisms for high explosive ammunition. The challenge was to identify potential design issues and better analyze trial results for the Nammo APEX ammunition program, where live firing tests were expensive and internal fuze behavior was difficult to measure directly. MSC Software provided the Adams multibody dynamics solution for this work.

Using MSC Software’s Adams, SDE built rigid and flexible body models to analyze both kinematic function and component strength in fuze safe-and-arm and impact delay mechanisms. The simulations helped confirm failure causes, quantify stresses, predict weak points, and support redesigns before manufacture and physical testing. MSC Software’s solution reduced the number of expensive trials required, improved design optimization, and provided valuable diagnostic evidence that helped ensure compliance with safety factors.

System Design Evaluation Ltd.

Scott Bradley

Design, Modeling & Simulation Lead